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Florida election 2018: Algae crisis top of mind at polls on last day of early voting

A slow but steady stream of traffic flowed into the Lee County Election Center this morning for the last day of early voting before Tuesday's primary.

Moms with kids in tow joined retirees, young adults and blue-collar laborers who performed their civic duty before heading to their paying one.

"I mean, look around, we came today to beat the crowds," Fort Myers resident Jim Martin said as he and his wife, Maryann Martin, scanned the quiet parking lot.

"We were in and out just like that."

The Election Center in south Fort Myers was one of 10 precincts across Lee open for early voting, which started Aug. 18 and ends at 6 tonight. Mail-in ballots may be submitted to the elections office through 7 p.m. Tuesday, while primary election voting goes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Through Friday, 81,573 ballots had been cast in Lee. The vast majority of those were mail-in ballots. According to the Lee County Elections website, only 11,007 ballots, 13.5 percent of the total, were cast in person over the past week.

Lee is home to 187,732 Republicans, 118,272 Democrats, and 130,911 independents who are ineligible to vote in some of the races because of Florida's closed primaries. All voters can vote for school board.

“It's the last day and that usually gets people out, so hopefully we have a big turnout, and keep our workers busy.”

Tommy Doyle

Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle said this year's primary should be on par with the 2014 primary, which saw 22 percent turnout for early voting.

"It's the last day and that usually gets people out, so hopefully we have a big turnout, and keep our workers busy," Doyle said.

"We’re talking, with 10 sites, that's an average of a thousand or so people per site, just a couple hundred each day. That's pretty poor."

Cheryl Dehetre moved to south Fort Myers from Michigan 14 years ago. She said she's following the Commissioner of Agriculture race closely.

"That person is going to have a big influence on everything that's happening," Dehetre said.

"Isn't that why we come down here, why we all live here, to enjoy the water and all the things that are under threat right now?"

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Austin Anderson, left, Brant Gederian and Drew Swett greet voters at they come into the Lee County Elections Center parking lot on Saturday, the final day of early voting. The primary election day is Tuesday.(Photo: Amanda Inscore/The News-Press)

Bill and Carol Hyde have lived in south Fort Myers for less than a year. The former Chicago residents missed Hurricane Irma by a few weeks, but have become familiar with another Southwest Florida disaster: red tide.

"Can we talk about red tide?" Bill Hyde said. "That's something every politician needs to address for this area and their constituents."

While most voters polled declined to say who they'd voted for, Mark Generales, another south Fort Myers resident and a proud Republican, happily named names: Rick Scott for Senate, Ron DeSantis for governor, Matt Caldwell for commissioner of agriculture.

"If we're going to have solutions to the problems we have, he's it," Generales said. "He understands those issues and how they affect us better than anyone."

Unlike Generales, voter Scheila Pierre didn't share much politically. Her 6-year-old daughter, Nasiyah, fumbled with their two "I voted" stickers while clenching a ballot of her own — Nasiyah voted for Wonder Woman over Cat Woman, her mom disclosed.

Pierre moved to Fort Myers from the Miami area 20 years ago. This is her second time voting with her daughter by her side.

"I think we should all be out more, doing what we can to bring change," Pierre said.

"I want my voice heard."

The Florida primary election takes place Tuesday with precincts open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Visit lee.vote for sample ballots and more information. Or click vote.org/polling-place-locator to find your precinct.